A virtual tour of the Claremont Museum of Art exhibition "Furious Garden" on view September 3 - November 27, 2021. The exhibition, which is organized by Rebecca Hamm and the artists, dynamically juxtaposes new paintings by Karen Kitchel and Deena Capparelli, and ceramic sculptures by Cj Jilek, all of whom focus on the extraordinary power and beauty of natural flora.
In this “furious garden,” three contemporary artists re-envision and re-construct the pastoral metaphors with which we’re familiar. Naughty, disobedient, and extravagant, this view of “garden” is active and provocative, intent on cultivating new pathways and relationships between landscape and occupant.
The video is narrated with an essay by art critic Betty Ann Brown. The exhibition is generously sponsored by Gould Asset Management LLC. The Museum is located in the historic Claremont Depot at 200 W. First Street. For more information about the museum, membership and current programs, visit clmoa.org.
About the Exhibition
The physical environment drives the work of Pasadena artist Deena Capparelli. In recent years, her interests in California native plants and garden design have merged with her work as a painter, sculptor and interdisciplinary collaborator. Her recent sabbatical research took her to England, Germany, and the Atlantic Coast of the U.S., studying transatlantic relationships among historical gardens, and 18th century landscape paintings influenced by the “picturesque,” an aesthetic ideal of the time. These activities and influences have fueled what she refers to has her “pseudo-imaginary” landscape paintings.
Inspired by the sensuality of the natural world, Cj Jilek uses botanical forms, with their openly displayed reproductive elements, as a metaphor for human sexuality. Exaggerated stamens and pistils create a visual language that relates closely to characteristics of the human body. These biomorphic forms are designed to lead the viewer to a subconscious association between nature and the human instinct of attraction. In the artist’s words, “Through my work I’m questioning ideas of beauty, eroticism, adaptation, acceptance, attraction, and desire.”
Karen Kitchel's environmentally resonant works embody a deep and sustained effort to transform and transcend landscape painting as it is commonly understood. Unconventional combinations of image, material, and form conspire to energize and subvert this traditional genre. Her paintings in Furious Garden draw upon her own gardening practice, surviving the 2017 Thomas Fire, and contemplating issues of environmental sustainability.
Exhibition organizer Rebecca Hamm is the long-time Director of Arts for the progressive studios of the Tierra del Sol Foundation in Upland. With an M.F.A. from Claremont Graduate University, Hamm has shown her artwork throughout the region and has taught a wide variety of fine art and design courses at three local universities.
A thoughtful essay by art historian Betty Ann Brown will accompany the exhibition. An accomplished author, art critic and curator, Brown has served on the faculty of California State University, Northridge since 1986.
About the Artists
Deena L Capparelli: A professor of Drawing and Sculpture at Pasadena City College with an MFA from Claremont Graduate University. Learn more at deenacapparelli.com
Cj Jilek: A world traveler and ceramics teacher at Chaffey, Saddleback, and Mt San Antonio Colleges. Former Assistant Studio Director at the American Museum of Ceramic Art. Learn more at cjjilekartist.com
Karen Kitchel: A Ventura-based artist with an MFA from Claremont Graduate University. Her work is held in numerous museum collections. Learn more at karenkitchel.com
25 сен 2021
